Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

maps balance the tension between accuracy
Good
usefulness—between truthful representation
and
practicality—and we should ask how
and
does the same. Which should we
knowledge
in which contexts? This dichotomy
prioritize,
arises in the natural and human
frequently
which create models of the world that
sciences,
useful simplifications to help us understand
are
subject phenomena. The more realistic a
the
or map is, the larger, more complex, and
model
as we have a variety of maps, from highresolution
Just
satellite images to hasty sketches on
napkins, and secret maps in government
table
to maps etched into rock centuries ago,
vaults
are some things we know from experience:
There
is light; there is heat; there are things that
there
this activity, reflect on the knowledge you
For
gained through your upbringing and
have
In what ways is this knowledge like
education.
map of the world?
a
use these “maps”, these different kinds
You
knowledge, to understand and explain
of
goes on around you, and to guide your
what
and actions.
decisions
fall to the ground, and others, such
dropped
air bubbles in water, that go up. Some of
as
knowledge explains how the things we
our
happen and why they happen. This
experience
of knowledge makes visible the forces such
kind
gravity or power; structures such as molecules
as
gender roles; and processes such as climate
or
or gentrification, that influence the world
change
different descriptions and explanations
The
our experiences have various levels of
of
power and authority. In TOK it is
persuasive
to ask: what influences the claims we
useful
and have confidence in? This chapter
trust
to illuminate that question at the level
seeks
the individual knower. In the following
of
we will also see how it applies at a
chapters
scale, where different communities and
larger
confer legitimacy and trust in different
cultures
of knowledge, often for different
forms
reasons.
Which aspects of the world are absent or
1.
in your maps? Why is this
underexplored
Do you have maps that contradict each
2.
If so, in which aspects? These are
other?
that you may have conflicting
issues
about.
knowledges
Do you have any maps that are wrong?
3.
can you tell that they are wrong?
How
Using the map metaphor, describe what
4.
means to be knowledgeable. How
it
I. Scope
I. Scope
we know and experience.
more challenging to use, it becomes.
I.1 Knowledge, or knowledges?
knowledge too comes in different forms.
are fluid, rigid or gaseous; things that when
For reflection
Your collection of maps
the case?
important is it to be knowledgeable?
3